Gospel plausibility and Community Organising

Abstract

How does Christianity make sense to those on the margins of the church and to those within? How can those of us who proclaim the Gospel week by week explicate it in such a way that it is not only comprehensible, but plausible to the inquirer? This article introduces Community Organising (CO) as but one way forward for a church that is now suffering an existential crisis in a culture that has become largely indifferent to its claims. It will argue that the gospel becomes more plausible when encountered within the context of community engagement. It does so by laying out a description of CO, providing a theological rationale, and sharing the results of interviews conducted with those practising CO in their communities.